Onward is a modernising think tank whose mission is to develop bold and practical ideas to boost economic opportunity and strengthen communities in all parts of the United Kingdom.

We are not affiliated to any party but believe in a mainstream conservatism. We recognise the value of markets and support the good that government can do, and believe that a strong society is the foundation of both. We want to seize the opportunities of the future while preserving the accumulated knowledge of the past. We believe that most people are hard working, aspirational and decent, but that many do not have the opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Our goal is to address the needs of the whole country: young as well as old; urban as well as rural; in all parts of the UK – particularly places that feel neglected or ignored in Westminster – by working with ordinary people directly and developing practical policies that work.

"There was a space on the centre right that we all knew existed but couldn't quite size, couldn't quite articulate. And then Onward came along and spoke to us about a change in politics that had been happening right under our noses. Some truths hidden in plain sight. Onward has always let the quality of its work sound the loudest. And we have all heard it."

Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

7 June 2022

"Into the arena, Onward stepped. The in-flight refueller. The next modernising thinktank. The engine which ensured that just as the process of government might be wearing thin, the Conservative Party was able to renew and refurbish its message, its personnel, its appeal and its coalition.”

Rt Hon Michael Gove MP

14 January 2020

“Thinktanks are expected to think the unthinkable but I don’t want us to think the unworkable. We have to think things that work politically, that is that pay some attention to whether people support them, where the costs fall and whether they work in practice."

Lord Finkelstein, Chairman of Onward

2018

“The question is how we forge an open-feeling, forward-looking conservatism that speaks equally to all. And I believe Onward is exactly what we need.”

Baroness Davidson, Former Leader of the Scottish Conservatives and Member of the House of Lords

2018

"I admire what you are doing here and we need more of it. Because what you are doing is leading an effort to rethink the meaning of conservatism and you are doing it in a way that is inviting social democrats to rethink their mission too. I think this is desperately needed."

Professor Michael Sandel, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government Theory at Harvard University Law School

24 May 2022

"One thing that struck us that was informed by the work of Onward was that to make success of levelling up we need to build the economic foundations - the good jobs and businesses that tie up productivity and innovation. But as importantly, we need also to build those social foundations, buttressing and replenishing social capital and rebuilding social infrastructure...That’s why we had quite an expansive set of medium-term missions in the White Paper spanning both economic and social missions."

Andy Haldane, Permanent Secretary for Levelling Up at the Cabinet Office

27th May 2022

Our Work

Our work is focused on the most pressing issues facing the United Kingdom today. Our five programmes are:

Levelling Up

Reducing economic disparities between places

A Question of Degree

One step back, two steps forward

Social Fabric

Repairing the ties that bind communities together

Age of Alienation: Young people are facing a loneliness epidemic

Giving young people a chance to serve

Getting to Zero

Practical and popular ways to decarbonise the economy

Getting to Zero: The practical and political implications of net zero

Private capital for public good

Future Politics

Understanding our changing political settlement

The Politics of Belonging

Making it big: The future of UK manufacturing

Science Superpower

A practical policy programme to transform science and innovation in the UK

Levelling up Innovation

Press

Our work is regularly featured in print, broadcast and online media, including through op-eds and broadcast interviews from the Onward team.

Politics Home

Op-ed

International Women’s Day began over one hundred years ago, yet violence against women persists

Researcher Phoebe Bunt writes for Politics Home on tackling violence against women and girls in the UK, arguing that tougher legal sanctions need to be accompanied by tools that help victims to access justice, and give them reason to trust the system.

The Spectator

Media Coverage

How the Tories should address Britain’s future

The Spectator publishes a transcript of Michael Gove MP's speech at the launch of Onward's 'Future of Conservatism'.

The Times

Op-ed

Nicola Sturgeon’s exit is big opportunity for unionists

Sebastian Payne writes for the Times on what Nicola Sturgeon's exit could mean for unionism.

The Times

Op-ed

Nicola Sturgeon’s exit is big opportunity for unionists

Sebastian Payne writes for The Times on what Nicola Sturgeon's exit means for unionism and nationalism.

LGO

Op-ed

Local leaders should prioritise crime to achieve levelling up

Shivani Menon, Onward's researcher, wrote an op-ed for LGO about our recent report 'Levelling Up Locally'.

LGC

Op-ed

Local leaders should prioritise crime to achieve levelling up

Shivani Menon, Onward's researcher, wrote an op-ed for LGO about our recent report 'Levelling Up Locally'.

Politics Home

Op-ed

International Women’s Day began over one hundred years ago, yet violence against women persists

The Spectator

Media Coverage

How the Tories should address Britain’s future

The Spectator publishes a transcript of Michael Gove MP's speech at the launch of Onward's 'Future of Conservatism'.

The Times

Op-ed

Nicola Sturgeon’s exit is big opportunity for unionists

Sebastian Payne writes for the Times on what Nicola Sturgeon's exit could mean for unionism.

Onward develops bold and practical ideas for the next generation of centre right thinkers and leaders

Onward After Hours with Dehenna Davison MP

Private Roundtable: Powering Up: Developing a comprehensive network for electric vehicle charging across the Midlands and beyond

Bridget Phillipson MP: Major Speech on Childcare

Bridget Phillipson MP: Major Speech on Childcare

Private Roundtable: Powering Up: Developing a comprehensive network for electric vehicle charging across the Midlands and beyond

Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Keynote Speech: Future of Conservatism Launch